An auction of Crown land has been stopped in its tracks this month, after the premier announced an indefinite extension of the pause on Crown land sales.
In 2023, the provincial government announced a pause to the sale of vacant Crown land while the government’s policy on its duty to consult with Indigenous peoples was updated and implemented.
There had been significant opposition to the sale of Crown land for economic and environmental reasons, as well as frustration that it reduced the land available for Indigenous and Métis peoples to exercise their traditional rights.
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In August, the two-year moratorium ran out, and Premier Scott Moe said the auction process automatically started to move forward.
“I think, in fairness, this is a case of where we just got a little bit ahead of ourselves in that process starting again,” said Moe in a scrum on Friday.
The auction was up online and had been advertised, describing “4,480 acres of cultivation and grazing farmland, split into 18 lots”. Bids were going to start being accepted on Tuesday, but by then the site had a notice up saying the sale was temporarily paused at the request of the Ministry of Agriculture.
Moe said there had been a meeting within government, and they chose to continue the pause indefinitely.
In a statement, the Government of Saskatchewan explained the parcels that were going up for auction had previously been leased agricultural land where the leases had been surrendered or cancelled.
“The intent of the sale was to allow the land to be used for agricultural purposes. The parcels of land identified for auction are a small portion of total Crown land holdings in Saskatchewan,” read the statement.
It said government will now look at other ways to make sure Crown land is being used productively, including leasing and short-term permitting.
The Sask. NDP is taking credit, saying the extended pause happened after pressure from it, Indigenous leaders, cattle producers and hunters.
“This is public land held in trust for all residents and our future generations,” read the NDP’s statement.